The Business of College Consulting
The Business of College Consulting
Systems, Specialties, and Success: Lisa Hillhouse's Journey
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Lisa Hillhouse shares her journey from Air Force officer to successful independent educational consultant, highlighting how she built a thriving college consulting business with a military specialty focus. Lisa shares how she:
• Leveraged background in Air Force admissions to create a specialty in military academy and ROTC applications
• Established strong business systems from day one with help from a business consultant
• Built a support team including essay editors, former military officers, and a student success manager
• Created a sustainable marketing strategy through conference presentations and word-of-mouth referrals
• Developed relationships with high school counselors by volunteering and sharing resources
• Implemented careful time tracking and package pricing to ensure profitability
• Found community through Berkeley Extension program cohort that still meets regularly
• Learned when to say no to clients who aren't a good fit
• Uses technology strategically while maintaining personal connection with students
Resources:
Welcome to the Business of College Consulting podcast. I'm your host, brooke Daly, founder and CEO of Advantage College Planning and Advantage College Planning. Franchising, building and growing a business is not for the faint of heart. In this podcast, you'll hear incredible stories from successful college consultants about growing a thriving business. They'll share the secrets behind their remarkable growth and the trials and triumphs shaping their path to success. Hello everyone, welcome to the Business of College Consulting Podcast. I'm your host, brooke Daly, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Lisa Hillhouse, founder of Hillhouse College and Career Advising. Welcome, lisa, thanks for joining me.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Brooke. It's such a pleasure to be here today.
Speaker 1:So can you start out by telling us just a little bit about how you ended up in the IEC industry, like what led you here, or maybe how did the IEC world find you?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So I started from a really different place. I was in the college admissions side because I was an Air Force officer and I was teaching Air Force ROTC at Berkeley and I got to do a bunch of admissions events and also volunteer with admissions. And then when that assignment was over, I decided to go in the Air Force Reserves and be part-time and so from there I was hired by the Air Force Academy to work in admissions and help run that program in Northern California and so I made a lot of connections with that going to school visits, academy nights, nacac fairs, things like that. But I was also people knew me in the local area that, oh, you work with kids with the military. And then, outside of the reserves, I was working in civilian college admissions at some Bay Area schools too.
Speaker 2:So once I had my kids and then when they were a little bit older and in middle school and high school, I realized we need to save more money for college. I really need to double down. And you know, do I want to go all into teaching because I was teaching in elementary school at that point, part time, because I was teaching in elementary school at that point, part-time or do I want to go back to the college admission side, and I had lunch with a former student's family that I had worked with to get into the Air Force and his mom was an IEC and she had done the Berkeley Extension program and she was like, why don't you do that? And so, you know, I thought about it that day and when I jump in I'm all in. And so I went home and applied to the Berkeley program and told my family like, hey, I'm going to start this business. This is what I'm doing A year, year and a half.
Speaker 2:So it was just, I was, you know, in that space in different ways, but it was a really neat opportunity and I felt like eventually I would get a bigger return for my, my work with people and I can have a bigger impact versus, like I loved being at colleges. But you're working on that. You know that school's agenda right, who they need to fill their class, and sometimes there's programs or people you want to admit and you can't do that. And so it was nice being on the student advocacy side but also helping them, you know, reach their goals.
Speaker 1:That's very cool and we were just having a conversation. I'll let our listeners know that Lisa did the Berkeley program when the Berkeley program was in person, which I think is so cool, and I'm so jealous because I teach in the program online and I try and do ask me anything, zoom, so I get to know students, but I think it would be so cool to be in person. So it really was.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it took a lot of time and energy, you know, to get there and so on, and the days were long, but you make these friendships and there were a group of women in my cohort and then maybe a cohort ahead and cohort behind, because you know you picked your pacing and now we meet every two weeks and we still get together and it's been about 10 years we've been doing that. That is magical, lisa. So even though I'm not in California, I still have that connection. When I go back there I see them and it's just. Our businesses have grown, some people have retired since we started the group, but it's small and intimate and it's also a really great safe place to talk about what's going well, what you're frustrated with, when you need help, and that's so important for people who are IECs you have to find your people.
Speaker 1:I love that, and so you've found your people in your Berkeley program. So tell me about those initial conversations, like when you started getting together. What were the pain points? Like what was everyone struggling with in those early years?
Speaker 2:Definitely. You know everybody was looking at their business from a different perspective. So some people it was a secondary income, some were single parents, like they had to really ramp up and, you know, make as much money as they could to support their families. I think it was like a lot of people.
Speaker 2:Maybe at the beginning you take families that aren't the best fit for you and so you know being able to get to a point where you can say you know that is not my an area I'm a subject matter expert in, or maybe you don't connect with the student or you feel like the parent might not be a good fit. So I think at first, you know you can't always have that luxury. I think too, like setting up your systems initially, like how are you going to monitor and track and keep your files? You know different things, like that was an issue. Also, you know at the beginning of any business it's like drinking from a fire hose. So I would say the first two years, maybe three, you're learning every single day and every week you're growing and stretching because you don't know about all these different majors or career outcomes or what school offers this and you're just soaking it in. But that takes a lot of time and energy to soak that into.
Speaker 1:Right, right, you've hit on some really awesome topics. So I want to go back to the systems and processes. So tell me in the early years because you were saying that these were the initial conversations that you were having what is one thing maybe that you did, that you were thankful for now to set up those systems and processes early For sure.
Speaker 2:So I think this there's two things I did that were really smart and helped set me up for success. So one is from the beginning I thought this is my full-time job, this is my business and I'm going to think about it as a business. I'm here to help people, but I'm also, you know, need to be smart about how I track my hours and my finances and, you know, having a plan and things like that. But what really helped me was I had a mom who I had worked with her son when I was at the Air Force Academy and she was a bookkeeper. And when I was getting out of the reserves and starting my business after I finished the practicum or the course, she said you know, I'm a business consultant as well and so for this amount of money, I help people launch their businesses. And you know, she had triplets and she's a super busy, hands-on mom and they're very high achieving students. And she said you know, here's the cost for that package, and it was the same as what I was going to charge for my 30 hour package and I was like, why don't we trade services? And so it was a huge blessing because she also has a military family. So it was a huge blessing because she also has a military family.
Speaker 2:Her husband was a career military officer and she had it locked down. She was very disciplined and structured, which you know as a military officer myself. We do our best to do that. I think she's more disciplined and structured than most people, but she had me on it. She's like it's the second of the month.
Speaker 2:Where are your books? I'm ready to do your bookkeeping. You know and that you know sitting down with her and from the start saying like we need to get you an EIN, we need business checking and savings and credit cards, you need to have a mileage log, you need to have logs with the hours you spend for each student and all these different things where people like lose track of things that might be deductions or ways they're investing in their business or their self, and that was just so smart to have those systems in place. And then also she was doing my books and starting with estimated taxes and I think a lot of people don't think about these things and then they have a big tax bill at the end of the year and then they have fines because they weren't paying during the year. You know different things like that Like do you need liability insurance? And she wasn't helping, like I was the only IEC she had worked with. It was all sorts of businesses, but the same general principles.
Speaker 1:That is really cool. Lisa, thank you for sharing that. I'm curious to know, like, even when you're operating your business now, when is her voice in your head? Like do you have any like quotes from her?
Speaker 2:that you're like, oh, she would be telling me this right now, or any, like golden nuggets. So I think, um, when the new month turns over, I was like, oh, you know, I have a different bookkeeper now because she had retired and then started a new business later. Um, and she didn't have space at that point. So it's like it's the first or second I have to get my books to my paper, and so, you know, it's not one of those things I like to do, but keeping that there. And also, too, you know, when we first got together, we talked about like, what are your business goals? And you know where are you throughout the year, like tracking that, and just, she was really great with the money management, and just, she was really great with the money management. So I've never had debt with my business and I've always been fortunate enough to turn a profit. So, yes, she still is with me 11 years later.
Speaker 1:I love that. So the other thing that you brought up when you were talking about your Berkeley group was taking on families that are not a good fit. Yes, do you have any stories of, maybe, a family that was not a good fit for you and how you handled that? Because that is something that is very real and I'll just share and I think I've shared this before, but I had a business coach who told me and a lot of us have heard this that 10% of your clients will take up 90% of your time, and so it's really important to take on those clients that are a good fit. So just share if you have any words of wisdom.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, sometime, like there was one, some mom who her child was friends with one of my children and I was kind of on the fence because the kids were a close friend Should I take them or not? And then the mom also works as a lawyer and I thought long and hard and I talked to my child are you okay if I work with your friend? And they said sure, and then I sent the contract to the mom after we did initial free consult and she came back and said I think your contract is very punitive and it works in your favor, not the clients. And my contract was put together by my business consultant, who's done, you know, hundreds of contracts and also had talked to lawyers as she was building her templates. And I said you know this is here to protect both you and me. So if you're going to cancel your contract, you know here's the time you notify. This is how I, you know, change the hours and things like that. And she was like I just don't like it, I want to change it. And I I reached back out to my business consultant and she's like no, you do not need to change this. You should not take her and don't work with any of your children's close friends.
Speaker 2:And so, you know, I went back to the mom and I said, you know, I think that I should send you to someone else. And she's like it's because I made a big deal about the business contract and I didn't want to say that, right, you know, because I did have some hesitations with working with the child's friend. I said, you know, I talked to my consultant and she said don't work with their close friends because it kind of crosses lines with the relationship with the parent. So I didn't take them and I'm I'm glad that I said no, but it was an uncomfortable situation and conversation too.
Speaker 2:But I think I've seen this from other colleagues when parents want to change the way that you do your payment or your rate or your um, your style of work or meet outside of the normal hours, things like that, it is only going to get worse and they're going to try to take more and more. So you really have to set your boundaries, realizing obviously there's things that happen like maybe a parent I like I had a case where during COVID both parents were laid off, you know. So we had to like refigure out what we can do that worked for them, but that's kind of a very rare occurrence.
Speaker 1:Exactly, I completely agree too, even with the pushback, with contracts or payments or things like that, like those are red flags. You know if you're, if you can't come to terms with those things, then you know that in the longterm it's going to be a tough road.
Speaker 2:So Right, right, save yourself yeah.
Speaker 1:The anguish, yes, and the stress. So you've talked about your military focus and a lot of, I think, newer IECs think about this right, like should I have some kind of specialty area that I focus on so that I can differentiate? Can you tell me a little bit about how that's helped you in, like marketing or attracting the right clients to you?
Speaker 2:Definitely so. When I started out I was telling everyone I'm starting this business, I'm finishing up my practicum, my program, and I had three teens and I was super involved in school and sports and scouts and church, so I already had a lot of contacts and connections. So, like one of the things I did which I wouldn't do now but I did a really nice trifle brochure you know, heavy cardstock and in color and sent it to literally everyone I knew Andure, you know, on heavy cardstock and in color, and sent it to literally everyone I knew. And then, you know, offered a free consult. But in there I listed my specialty is the military service, academies and ROTC scholarships. You know, based on my background. But I also talked about areas I've worked in like nurse. I did nurse recruitment in the military, I worked with a lot of STEM students, et cetera, and so at first you know, I was like this is a broad net. You know I'm going to work with a wide variety of kids. But my very first customer came from a good friend whose best friend had a son who wanted to go to an academy from another state and then it kind of rolled in from there. So each year, you know, some years I have a larger military caseload than others. You know it's been anywhere from about, in recent years, 40 to 50% of my class, so it's certainly not everyone. But a specialty is fun because I'm passionate about that group, about developing leaders and finding my replacement in the military.
Speaker 2:But I think, too, like you can have a specialty or you can be a generalist, but you do have to pick a couple areas where you're really seeing the need. So if it's business schools, if it's STEM you know computer science, et cetera I think you should have some things like you can't know everything. So, like I have worked with dancers and film students, but I've also had them co-counseled with some other people, like on the portfolio and things like that, some of those essays. But I love having a specialty.
Speaker 2:One thing I noticed the year I had 50% of my class I forgot how much time and energy military kids need because their process is so much more involved and I did not take that into account. So much more time I would have to work, you know, with those kids, which I love doing, but I definitely was kind of at, you know, stretched to the limit that year. So, yes, I think have areas you're good at. But I also wouldn't want to only work with those students, because I love that diversity, like this year I had three nurses and I had a dancer, you know a couple of computer science kids, et cetera.
Speaker 1:So I think that Absolutely, that makes perfect sense. So can you tell me a little bit about how your marketing has changed? So you talked about the trifold brochure. I mean, hey, people love paper too. Like I think that's a recovering paper addict.
Speaker 2:I really love my paper.
Speaker 1:Well, I have not recovered yet, so you're in good company, lisa.
Speaker 2:So the transition to a digital calendar was very difficult for me. I'm not going to lie, I definitely had some issues. So with marketing now. So initially I built a business plan and I had done that when I did recruiting for the Air Force too. You know what are we going to do? So each year I set a goal for myself. So how am I going to do different outreach? So, you know, am I going to go to one, two, three conferences and present, like on the academies and ROTC and how to guide and mentor people. I've been guests, I guess, on podcasts, on webinars, and so often it's something related to that or leadership, or you know other things like that. So I set those goals and work toward those as well. And then also this year, I want to start blogging, and I think the blogging may be more focused toward the military piece. I'm kind of sketching those topics out now. So I think it's being concentrated in what my outreach is going to be.
Speaker 2:And then a lot of business. For any IEC, you know, it's giving the best possible service to your clients and leaving happy families right, and that's some of your best. Marketing service to your clients and leaving happy families right, and that's some of your best marketing. And so, you know, in my intake form it says you know, this student's sister is two years behind and it has her name. And then I'll just put a note on my calendar like, hey, at the end of their wrap-up session, offer a free session for the parent and student. Other student. Then check back, you know, a year later. So again, like having happy families who send their neighbors, their cousins, I think that's an important strategy too, you know, and it takes time to manage that. And you know I'm very soft with the cells. You know I hope you come back. You know I've had families where I've had four kids, you know. And so, yes, and if you don't get them back sometimes it's because you've done such a good job. They're feeling confident. Next student, you know good, lisa too good too good.
Speaker 2:But I did have a family this year. I worked with their one son to go to the Air Force Academy and he's graduated. And then the next student was a recruited athlete. It was kind of a one and done thing, so they did it themselves. And then the last son they had a much smaller list, he was a different student and she came to me and she's like would you just do a few hours with us? And I was like sure, cause I knew they were a great family. And they came to me in November and I'm very forward leaning with my students. So I want everyone wrapped up by Monday of Thanksgiving week, you know, if at all possible, and meaning wrapped up like all apps are in and so maybe we're doing an honors essay or interview prep or something, but like I had the time to take on an hourly kid, you know, at that point in the year, so that was a win-win. So I think that flexibility too, you know, is important.
Speaker 1:I love that, lisa, thank you. So you mentioned presenting at conferences and I just want to connect the dots for listeners that I'm I'm assuming that you get a lot of referrals from IECs who are, who have families who contact them, who are interested in the military academy. So presenting at conferences is a good way to get to know your IEC friends who could possibly Definitely so. And you also mentioned, of course, over-servicing as a marketing strategy. Right, like giving the best possible service. Can you share if you know what it is like? What percentage of families or clients that you have now come from referrals?
Speaker 2:I don't know the percentage that come from IEC referrals, but there are some that come from high school counselors too, and so I'll present at IECA or PECA, sometimes alternating years or a little bit more space in between. But I'll do a lot of ACAC presentations and so I won't have many IECs there, but there'll be some. But some of the high school counselors are really generous with that, and then also some of the high school counselors have sent me some pro bono students that need some help on that military piece. So I would say, you know, referrals, a good percentage are from that outreach and you know I don't do it to necessarily build business like that's a big plus but it is, you know, educating people and getting that word out.
Speaker 2:But I also think, like some counselors will go to more conferences than others or go on more tours, and I think going on group tours, like IECA just did the learning difference tour in Boston and it's getting the word out there that this is my specialty, and you know you would think, well, kids with learning differences may not be qualified for military programs and in some cases some of those things are, you know, will stop them and others it won't.
Speaker 2:But it just educated me on learning differences because I have a lot of students with them Like that's not my specialty, but it's a thread that I need to be aware of and help support them. So, even if you think that's not going to market me, like, I met a couple people and like somebody recently referred somebody. So I think that's important and I don't know if we always put enough time into professional development, and I know it takes time away from your business, and touring colleges in September and October is never easy, you know, and it's expensive sometimes to go on these tours and conferences, but I feel like everyone needs to be doing it to some extent. Yes, agreed.
Speaker 1:And you're right, it's easier in the early days, not financially, but you have. You feel like you have more time and then you grow your client base and then you feel like, oh, how do I balance it all? But you know, it's the classic conundrum of working on my business or in my business, you know, and you kind of get sucked in and then you realize, oh, I've got to get out, I've got a tour, I've got to go to conferences. So we talked about parent referrals and then colleague referrals. Can you tell me what other successful marketing strategies have you used, like recently? Can you maybe talk about? You know? Has social media worked for you? Do you do your own presentations? Definitely.
Speaker 2:So I mentioned this year, blogging is something I want to do and I love podcasts and webinars. This year, another goal for me is to start putting together my own webinars and posting those on social media. On my website there's a media page and there's a lot of you know. They're all free resources. There's articles, podcasts and webinars. I've done, again, mostly related to military and leadership topics, but I also tell families like, if you're not going to, you know, work with me. Or even if you are, like, please look at those and listen to those, because I've had people come to me and they're like, oh, I heard that podcast on your website from five years ago, you know, and so those things are there. I'm super happy. But also I'm like I tell counselors to like, tell your kids to look at these, even if you're not going to work with me. Like I want to do that education Something.
Speaker 2:In the last two years I've really reconnected with LinkedIn and just put a concerted effort to get my name out there and post articles. I had been on Facebook since the beginning and Facebook has a very different audience than LinkedIn demographics, gender, age, backgrounds, and so some things that I do are just for Facebook, some are just for LinkedIn. Other times I'll do some crossover, but it does take time and energy to post a couple of times a week. It's great when you have, you know, oh, this webinar and that could be the post right. But I also feel like I've connected with.
Speaker 2:This is an interesting thing for me A lot of women who are military leaders and leadership consultants many of them are fighter pilots with very unique backgrounds, and so some I had met at military events but it's just fun to have those connections and then just a lot of great like leadership consultants are on there, and so you know, I have taught that and I work with that with my students, but I also feel like I grow, so that's a part of my professional development too. And yes, you know, anything that you can post on there that's going to be relevant and timely is going to be useful, I think.
Speaker 1:I love it. Thank you for sharing that. Sure, I know that social media is a tough commitment for many IECs. New experience doesn't matter. Everyone's like oh, social media, because it does have to be a commitment. Right, you can't do it once every other month. It's really. You know, you've got to put some time and energy and you know we talk about in the Berkeley class, like, just choose one, commit to it. Or you know what? It's okay if you don't do it at all at first, like if that's not, if you don't have the bandwidth for it, don't worry about it, because, at least from our experience, it's not going to result in a hundred new clients. Right, it is brand awareness and name recognition and those types of things, so that when parents are searching your business name, they find you and they're like oh, okay, so there's some legitimacy there. But if you have a great website and you know you don't necessarily have to jump in and do all of the things you know all at once and I think the website is an important part.
Speaker 2:I developed mine really early. I used Weebly. Think the website is an important part. I developed mine really early. I used Weebly. I still manage it. I love, you know, doing that website piece and I think that a lot of counselors don't bother. They're like, oh, I get a steady stream of referrals or I have a good size business. But I feel like if you want to keep moving your business forward and growing, especially in times like now where the economy's changing and the admissions world's changing, you know I think having that website there and just keep moving your business forward is going to pay off. You know, because we put ourselves out of business every year. Right, Our seniors graduate and, of course, some kids I'm working with for several years, but it's that start over every year.
Speaker 1:Oh, such a good point, Lisa, I love that. So you mentioned school counselors referring you, which I love. So I just want to hit on that topic for a second because I know a lot of IECs struggle with the relationship with school counselors. I'm assuming because you had mentioned presenting at the ACACs, that probably helps build that bridge. Have you had any success or any luck with any other strategies or ways to get to know high school counselors?
Speaker 2:Yes, so when I was at the Air Force Academy, I would go to about 25 local schools and probably six or seven were feeders for the military, and so I would go in those counseling offices and I had a counselor that was like dedicated for school visits and so I got to know them.
Speaker 2:And also in my district, when I still lived in California, I would volunteer at, like career nights and college fairs, you know, for the counselors, and not in any way selling, but just to be there to listen, to help. You know people, you know sometimes I'd see students that I had there and so I think it's important not to go in there selling but like, what can I do to help? When our family moved to Georgia, I wasn't involved with that, but I did go to the office and say this is my specialty, if you ever have any questions, like I had all my resources from the previous year back when everything was on paper and brought in guides and books and things like that. But I haven't spent time with that in recent years, but also now my kids are grown and outside of school, so Right, Right, cool.
Speaker 1:So, lisa, your journey, or your path, sounds so smooth, like it just, it sounds like everything worked perfectly. Like, tell me, like what, what have been your challenges that you've had to overcome? Like did you ever have imposter syndrome? Like what, where were the sticky points?
Speaker 2:Sure, I think everyone has a moment here and there of imposter syndrome. I wouldn't say I was crippled by that, but sometimes if someone turns you down and you felt like you were a good fit and you were sure you were going to close that deal, it's like what happened. Why was that? Or, I think, when you're new and it's early on and a parent asks something you don't know, there's that little bit of that and you just have to say I'm going to find that out and get right back to you.
Speaker 2:Or very early on, I tried never to make a mistake with a client, but I can remember two or three mistakes I made in those first couple of years and I was like, okay, I'm not going to count that hour of meeting time, you know, because and I, you know, admitted it and I think those were bigger things in my head than they were for the parents it was never a devastating, major blunder, it was something early in the process. So I think, give yourself grace. I think the first couple of years I didn't use College Planner Pro, so you know there's so many different software programs out there and platforms, but I should have moved to it sooner and I did finally, you know, subscribe to it. And then it took me a year before I migrated over, because I didn't want to have to do all the uploads and all that.
Speaker 2:But I should have gone to that much sooner. And why I hesitated. Initially I was like they're expensive platforms, you know, and I was putting all my students on there, even if it was just hourly, not a package student. But also that business consultant had me having deadline trackers and having hour trackers and I had an invoice template. So I already had a lot of those features but I had to manually do them.
Speaker 2:And then one day a friend was like you just have to go to CPP. And I started and I was like, oh my gosh, what was I waiting for? You know, I'm just going to do that unlimited package, I'm going to put everyone on there, just for my own sanity and client management. So I wish I did it sooner from, like the communications perspective, from the invoicing, like setting it up so it's automated. You know, having the research capability, like that wasn't, that was something I had on a handout, right Paper, exactly On paper, exactly. So that was something.
Speaker 2:And I think the other thing, one thing that is my least favorite part of the business is now I'm an LLC. Favorite part of the business is now I'm an LLC. And so there's, you know payroll and tax updates and you know all the legal filings and it feels like it's a very small part of the business. But it's a piece I hate to do and I've kind of found, as soon as it comes in, I need to like pay this right or like check with the CPA, check with my business lawyer. It's not a big enough piece that I could outsource it right, but I do hate that part.
Speaker 1:I don't think anyone loves it.
Speaker 2:It's like I wish I had a team for those small things. But you know, when, like the payroll doesn't process because it's a new tax year and the rates have changed, you know that stuff kind of stinks. So when I started out I was a sole proprietor and it just was a lot less of that backend office.
Speaker 1:I get that. So your business consultant talked to you about time tracking. Can we talk about that for a second, because this is something that has come up recently in conversations with IECs and I think it's such a good, and actually there was a whole session on time tracking in the Business Growth Institute that IECA did this winter and it was fascinating for me to listen and hear, because it's something that I don't ever do, but I'm like, wow, how valuable is it? Okay, how am I spending my time? So can you I just want to double click on that topic for a second Like, tell me about time tracking. How do you do it? What do you do?
Speaker 2:Right, so I'm not tracking every minute of things that I do outside of clients but I do try to be aware of that. But with each client they're going to have a different size package. So my military students have different offerings of hours because it's more labor intensive than my non-military. But say you have a 30 hour package, which is very common for my non-military kids, I say in my contract any work over five minutes will be documented. So I'll just go into CPP and be like 10 minutes compiling this list, responding to this email, and then that will come off of that 30 hours. But you know, if you text me three times during the week and it's a quick reply, I'm not going to count that.
Speaker 2:So from the start I've always been really diligent and my friends have always been really jealous. They're like I probably give away a lot of free time. But I also feel like you know I plan that into the schedule, like what my, what my workload is going to look like. I also will say, like the packages, there's things that don't count against your hours. So I do an essay workshop and an application workshop and those are small group Zoom videos and if you attend that that does not count against your contract, so that could be like an extra five and a half hours of free time.
Speaker 2:I have an essay editor who reads the final version of your main Common App essay and I allot up to an hour of time and I don't count that against your contract too. But all the work we were doing one-on-one on your essay and refining it, you know I will count. So I try to be very generous with those hours and you know, at first I was like how many hours were students using and you know where should that contract be Like? So for my military families I'll say this task takes this many hours on average, this takes that, and then that helps them decide what package is good for them. But I think it's really important because you won't bill what you're doing Exactly right, right.
Speaker 1:Do you ever have any issues with parents who don't use all of the hours? Do you get any pushback about? Well, we only use 20 of the 30 hours.
Speaker 2:Okay, I'm going to knock on wood. No, I've never had that. Good, go ahead and knock, right. Right, you know, I think it's over. Deliver, you know. So the hours are non-refundable.
Speaker 2:If I had a family like I had a family who they can always cancel their contract. So one thing that's part of that is there's an hourly rate. So if you can't, because your contract for a large block of hours really reduces that hourly rate, right, this is what I multiply it by, and there's a one hour fee to cancel the contract. So sometimes, like I had a person get into the Air Force Academy super early and they had another 10 hours to go. So the mom's like, we're just going to cancel it. So you know, sometimes someone might have an hour or two left and they're like, can I pass it on to my sibling? And you know, if it's a good family, you know I'm going to continue to work with them. I'm happy to do that. But I don't like refund those hours and my goal is, like, with a 30 hour package, if we're doing all your college work, you know, junior, senior year my goal is that we're doing it in about 28 hours and we have an hour of like buffer and then an hour wrap-up meeting.
Speaker 2:Right, so I build the packages based on that.
Speaker 1:Yes, and so your 30-hour package is probably like your comprehensive traditional type student. And then how many hours is your military? So?
Speaker 2:there's all different ones. So 40 is the biggest, 32 is like the traditional one, 20 is pretty popular. So that's mostly military, a little bit of other things, and then people can always add hours. So sometimes they'll say we just want to do this. And then they're like, oh, you really should do our school list, or can you help with the main essay, and I'm happy you know to do that. So yes, you know, we'll do that too.
Speaker 1:Okay good good, I know we'll do that too. Okay Good Good. I know especially for newer consultants packages and pricing like it's probably the biggest pain point when you're starting like what do you do and how do you do it? Should I do hourly? Should I offer packages? So thank you for sharing that. I think that gives a good perspective and I love that you're tracking your hours, you're deducting the hours, um so.
Speaker 2:And I'll give families an update. Like we're getting ready to start the essays, we are halfway through our package, or you know we finished our work. We've got about three hours left. You know we're doing fine. Or if a student's taking a lot of time, I let the parents know this one's taking a lot of time, you know.
Speaker 1:Just so you know yeah, and heads up, you may run out of hours Exactly, and I think that's great, it's good. Again, you're being proactive and that's good service, right, so families aren't surprised. You don't want to suck anyone with that. Yes, you mentioned an essay editor. You've mentioned a bookkeeper. Do you have anyone else as part of your team that helps keep you productive and sane? Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:Yes, so I'm the only IEC on the team, but I have a group of retired military officers who were former commanders as well, and so they're from different branches and my military students. After we've prepped for their different interviews like nominations, scholarship boards I will send the student to one of them and sometimes it's based on oh, I like this person's career trajectory or where they were commissioned. All the contractors who are military have a different background than me and they're all a different gender than me. So it's great because it's someone unfamiliar. So they'll do that interview prep and then a resume review and then get back with me. I circle back with the kids what did they say? And then what's missing from that and where do you need to go forward?
Speaker 2:My most important contractor would be my student success manager, and that was also something that it was hard to get the right person to, you know. But now that I have her, she does so much for me, so she is there to onboard all the students. So do the contracts, the invoicing, the documentation to get them set up in the software, to get their first appointment. She does things like here's a running list of when you last met with these juniors. You know it's been two months. Why is that kid not coming in here? You know she's doing the workshop signups. You know she's doing the end of the year surveys and then she also comes from a graphic arts background and so she makes everything look pretty with the logo, getting it uploaded, getting papers, and you know resources like the library. We have a big database of summer camps and programs and so every year she confirms that she adds to that, and so every year she confirms that she adds to that. You know she maintains those resources. So it's a lot of things that I don't like to do or have an interest in or just to not.
Speaker 2:You know a savant on DocuSign, so grateful, you know, for her doing that and she's really efficient with her time and honestly, it's like I'm amazed how much she gets done, you know, in that time. So when you get to the point where you really want to focus on the students and the process and you know your resources, I think that's a great time to do that. As I said, everybody is part-time and some of the contractors, like the essay editor and the officers, are going to be more seasonal. You know so and they love that. That's a great side hustle, you know, for them. So yeah, that's, that's been a big, I think, part of my success and also like my sanity too. Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So is your client success manager. Is that person an hourly employee?
Speaker 2:She is, so everyone is a 1099. Oh right, right, right, you just say that, thank you. Oh, no, that's okay. So, yes, so, and I just, you know, pay them monthly for you know whatever they've accomplished, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and it's such a classic situation where an IEC grows their business to the point of max capacity.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And then the question is, what do I do now? Like and I think that's a great way to increase your time, right, and I try to think creatively too, like at the beginning stages of my business, when I did reach that max capacity I was, you know I would hire somebody to clean my house so that I didn't have to do that, so I'd have more hours to work with my students. Because I think, well, how much am I going to pay that person and how much could I make hourly? And think, well, how much am I going to pay that person and how much could I make hourly? And it just made sense, right, just thinking creatively about how to open up the time in your schedule and offload the things that you don't necessarily want to be doing or have the capability or ability, as you mentioned, you know that person has a different skillset.
Speaker 2:So Right, yeah, one thing that's neat and interesting about my business too is all of my contractors are veterans or military dependents or both, and so you don't often see that. So that's a population I really like to serve and help. And something interesting this year I talked to my bookkeeper and I said I feel like I've put less hours into my business this year. I didn't feel as busy and during busy season as overwhelmed, as busy and like during busy season, as overwhelmed. And I said I think that I put more work onto the contractors and she's like you only paid your contractors a thousand dollars more than the previous year. So she's like I think it's you being more efficient and you know, obviously giving some work to them and being smarter, working smarter, not harder. But I was surprised it was only a thousand dollars more, because I would have felt impressive.
Speaker 1:It was a lot more Right. Yeah, do you have? In that same vein, do you have any final words of wisdom? From a productivity standpoint? Like any hacks that you're like, I do this and it saves me so much time, or I feel so much more organized, right.
Speaker 2:You know I I love learning and growing. I'm always listening to different podcasts. You know some of them are business like. There's a podcast about marketing and business and time productivity Can you name it Lisa, I'm sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's Elizabeth McCravey, the oh gosh, building your brand podcast. I'll give it to you for the notes. So she is a graphic designer but a business owner and a consultant and she just has really great thoughts. She is a younger mom but she's always trying to maximize her time, so everyone's trying to do that. I listen to a lot of different financial podcasts. So just thinking about your own finances and your business strategies I mentioned that I've tried to get away from paper, so I have one small notebook and in the back, going forward, is my personal like to do's and then the front, going backwards, is my business to do's, and so if I'm like I need to get this to that person, I put it in there, and then there's that nice feeling of crossing it off.
Speaker 2:Um, and I have gone to a digital calendar. So again, that was very painful at first because I work with people in all time zones and I travel a lot, so there's been times where I was like I didn't plan to get up at 6 am in California for this meeting, but I didn't change the calendar. I also love Calendly and so that's just such a time saver.
Speaker 1:Yes, Agreed, Awesome Lisa. Well, this has been so fun. Before we wrap up, I always like to ask are there any questions that I haven't asked you that you would have loved to answer?
Speaker 2:Yes, you know, maybe two quick ones. So the first one is your business has to be about your values and so for me, like service and relationships, giving back, you know, working with students in a really positive way. So I I let like that, those values, be more my mission statement and like what, what is the work I do, who do I want to work with, and things like that. So know what your values are. The other thing is and I never hear anyone talk about this so mentoring is so important and of course, like we mentor people, we've been mentored.
Speaker 2:So early on I had two more established IECs who mentored me, who are still friends, and that was really important, but not just like being mentored. But also there's a colleague and friend who I met at a HECA conference. We were both from the same city. It was her first conference, I was new to Atlanta and I mentored her in the business development side, but she mentored up and mentored me on the high school side, where she came from and just taught me about this district and you know what is it like with the curriculum and the grading and APs and different things like that course registration, and that was really useful.
Speaker 2:So I don't know. If we look at you know the different ways you can mentor. The other thing is she had a brand new business and so she was at that fire hose stage we talked about and listening to all these podcasts and reading all these books and looking at all these websites and all these different software options, and that was stuff that I already had, some things that I was doing and you know that were working, and I didn't know about some of them and I was like, wow, you know, because you're not in that first stage where you haven't built those resources. So I think it's really important to give back, but also like let yourself be mentored by other people too.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh, I love that, lisa, thank you. Thank you for sharing that's awesome. Well, thank you so much for being on today, lisa. It's been so fun and you shared so many golden nuggets. I appreciate you.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you too. Thank you for having me. Yes, thanks, lisa, thanks.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode of the business of college consulting. I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did. If you did enjoy it, please leave a review on Apple podcasts or Spotify, or share it with a friend in the college consulting industry. I'll see you next week on our new episode and in the meantime, take care.